Search

Community Cornerstone Quilakwa Center Wins SFI Award

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 1, 2016 /CNW/ -- Using wood in innovative and beautiful ways to bring new life to a BC community hub has earned KH Designs an award from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). The award is part of the 2015/16 Wood Design Awards program. It was presented last night at the annual Wood WORKS!British Columbia awards event.

The Quilakwa Center, in Enderby in the southern interior of BC, is home to the Splatsin boardroom and development corporation offices, a First Nation's arts shop, gas bar, convenience store, and a Tim Hortons restaurant and drive-thru. The winning partnership includes KH Designs, Splatsin, Omega & Associates Engineering and Sperlich Log Construction.

"We are pleased to be recognized with this award from SFI and the Wood Design awards program. The Quilakwa Center is the cornerstone of Splatsin, as well as the community of Enderby. It embodies the original natural style of handcrafted log construction and also embraces and showcases our local culture," said Wayne Christian, Chief of Splatsin. The building was designed to replace a gas station and convenience store.

Splatsin members also harvested some of the special character logs from their own lands. These types of logs are typically not used by the forest industry because of their crookedness and character.

"The Quilakwa Center is a showcase for the beauty, versatility and durability of wood from responsibly managed forests that support sustainable communities," said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. "This project is also a prime example of how SFI supports efforts to strengthen the vital links between healthy forests, responsible purchasing and sustainable communities."

The entire structural frame of the building was engineered in massive solid-wood components. The log posts and beams, which are up to 40" in diameter, carry all the loads from the walls and roof panels through to the foundation. Using natural logs in a structure has been calculated to have the lowest environmental impact of any type of wall construction.

"When comparing the impacts of wall materials, there really is no other material that comes close to wood as a green building material. When we consider energy efficiency during use and the ability of log walls to store carbon, the environmental advantages are quite significant," said Kevin Halchuk, President of KH Designs in West Kelowna, BC.

Architects and builders are increasingly choosing wood for construction because it looks great, offers numerous environmental benefits — including renewability and a lower carbon footprint than other materials — and is easy to work with. Trees also absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, sequestering and storing carbon, which reduces greenhouse gases and improves air quality. Trees turned into wood products continue to store carbon over the long term.

About Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Inc. (SFI)SFI® Inc. is an independent, nonprofit organization that is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the internationally-recognized SFI program. SFI works at the intersection of sustainable forests, thriving communities and responsible procurement. Across the United States and Canada, more than 110 million hectares are certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard, and millions more are positively impacted through SFI Fiber Sourcing. The SFI Standards are based on principles that promote sustainable forest management. The SFI Forest Management Standard includes measures to protect water quality, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, special sites, species at risk, forests with exceptional conservation value, and indigenous people's rights. SFI Inc. is governed by a three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally. Learn more at sfiprogram.org and the SFI Green Building Fact Sheet.

About the Wood Design & Building AwardsThe Wood Design Awards program is the only North American program to award excellence in wood architecture. Prominent architects award winners based on creativity, distinctive and appropriate uses of wood materials, ability to satisfy clients' building and site requirements, and overall aesthetic appeal.